That feeds me & hubby cheaply for a week! I find if I don’t plan out meals for the week before I buy the food, it’s easier to stay on the GF wagon, not get urges for things I can’t have and bored of what’s in the cupboard. Taking the time to plan what to eat saves me misery for the rest of the week, and saves a fridge full of food going to waste (I never planned anything before GF life and would quite often waste a lot because I didn’t buy it with a vision to create anything from it)… So, it’s going to be a good week!

This is pretty much effortless to rustle up when you’re just cooking for yourself – but would make an awesome side dish too. It’s a one-pot-wonder that’s healthy and tasty. Quantities below are for one person, scale up if you’re feeding more mouths.

Ingredients:

75g Jasmine Rice (dry weight)

1 red pepper (chopped)

1 stick of celery (finely chopped)

1/2 tsp chopped fresh ginger

2tbsp green peas (I used frozen)

1 lemon grass stalk

225ml (approx) hot vegetable stock

1/2 tbsp GF tamari sauce

To Make:

In a small saucepan, heat the pepper, celery, ginger, peas and lemongrass in a little oil for a few minutes until everything begins to soften

Add the stock, followed by the rice

Stir, then cover and allow to simmer gently for 10-12 minutes, until all stock has been absorbed and the rice is tender

Stir in the tamari sauce, and serve

I used Jasmine rice because it tastes amazing, and cooks really quickly. You could make this with another type of rice, but remember to allow longer for it to cook.

Puy Lentils are so sexy. If you disagree, it’s probably because you’ve never cooked them like this. With very little effort, puy lentils can be your go-to ingredient for comforting PJ food – and what’s sexier than that? ;)

OK, they’re not much to look at, but they are so tasty (pictured below in an oven-baked potato, and some red cabbage & red pepper on the side)

Ingredients:

225g puy lentils (dry weight)

2 cloves garlic – peeled and minced / grated

1 red chilli – finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely diced

2 tbsp red cooking wine

600ml veg stock

Method:

Heat the celery in a little oil on a low heat for around 10 minutes, until it is soft and smells fantastic

Add the garlic & chilli to the pan and mix through – leave for a matter of seconds, before throwing the lentils in

Add the wine to the pan, and turn up the heat, keeping the lentils moving for about a minute while the alcohol evaporates

Add the stock (preferably hot) to the pan, give it a stir, then cover and let it simmer gently for about 30 mins, until the stock has been absorbed and the lentils are soft (you want them soft but not mushy)

That’s it – serve, in a baked potato, on a salad, with a piece of meat or fish… or just in a bowl all by themselves!

As a rule of thumb I allow 75g (dry weight) of lentils per person. The above was enough to fill 3 potatoes generously. Be warned though, once you’ve cleared your plate, you will probably wish that you made more. And you will want to make it again. Because it’s so easy, so healthy, and so damn sexy.

I found some gluten free brown rice noodles at the supermarket (finally) so I had to make this! The great thing about stir-frying is that you can chuck in whatever veg you have lying around (or meat, if you’re that way inclined), make it as big or as small as you need, and it takes 15 minutes to make. What makes this one special is the peanut sauce!

Ingredients:

250g gluten free brown rice noodles (dry weight)

1 head brocolli, broken into small florets

2 carrots, thinly sliced

1 red pepper, chopped

1 stick celery, chopped

1 red chilli, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp lazy ginger (or a 2cm piece of fresh ginger)

For the Peanut Sauce:

125g Whole Earth Smooth Peanut Butter

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp gluten free tamari sauce

1 tbsp honey (or agave nectar to make it vegan)

1 tbsp water

juice of 1 lime

50g sesame seeds

Method:

Put a large pan of water on to boil for the noodles, and meanwhile chop the veg for the stir fry

Pop your noodles into the boiling water, and add your veg to a hot pan with some oil (leave the chilli & garlic out for now)

Mix together the ingredients for the sauce

The noodles and the stir fry should both only take around 5 minutes, so at the last minute, add the garlic and chilli to the stir fry

Mix the peanut sauce in with the stir fry, then drain your noodles.

Add your noodles to the stir fry pan, and mix well (the rice noodles can be a bit sticky and stubborn, but persevere for a minute) then take off the heat and serve immediately!

This was supposed to make enough for me and OH tonight, with one dish left over for lunch tomorrow, but OH liked it so much he polished it all off tonight. So it must have been good :)